Dearly Beloved
by MilesTailsPrower-007
Summary: The wandering of Ed's thoughts, and a word or two of Alphonse's that offer him some comfort. One Shot. [Canon. Contains no OCs or pairings. Reviews appreciated!]


_**Author's Note: **Just a little bit of thoughtful FullMetal Alchemist stuff. In case you're wondering when you get to it, a rerebrace is like the part of a suit of armor that covers the upper arm. :)_

_Thank you for reading, and reviews are hugely appreciated! Take care!

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The silver moon hung high over the hills, bathing the land in pale light. The stars shone like diamonds scattered about the midnight hue of the sky, glittering above the sleeping greenery below. The silence was pierced by almost nothing, for the exception of the rustling of the leaves as a breeze danced through them, and the scenery slept in the stillness. Well, most of it did. A lone figure stood atop the highest point of the field, eyes locked on the everlasting sky. On this night, not unlike others, he had found himself unable to sleep, and so he thought to pass the time by himself in the fresh night air. This was his 'time killer'. This was all he could do when he was alone with the silence and his mix of thoughts, wondering if it was even truly possible to undo what had already been done. There could be some limit to what even the power of the Philosopher's Stone was capable of. A terrible thought, really. Now and again, he'd been witness to unpleasant dreams regarding the discovery of the real Philosopher's Stone, especially pertaining to the disappointment that would follow if even it could not enable him to undo what had been done. Ah, the pain of losing the dearly beloved.

Heavy clunks approached him, and Edward Elric swiveled around to see Alphonse's metal form coming up the hill behind him. The silver moon threw beams off the sides of his metal armor. It gleamed faintly under the light. Ed let him come, and turned back to face the moon overhead, thrusting his hands into the pockets of his long red jacket. He heard his brother stop a foot or two behind him.

"Big brother?" said Al's voice, seemingly echoic and almost distant from within the armored shell. "Are you alright? You've been out here awhile..."

Ed's face flickered into a momentary smile, but then it faded, and he turned his head just enough to the right to catch a view of a portion of Alphonse's metal body out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, it's nothing. Don't worry about me." He shrugged his shoulders lightly and let his eyes fall back onto the sprawling landscape. "Just thinking."

"Oh."

There was a creak and a somewhat ridiculous thud as Al's metal form sunk into a sitting position atop the hill. He sat silently, and for a time, the only sound between them was Edward's breathing. As an animate suit of armor, Al didn't have to worry about that. Eventually, Ed gave up on standing and sat down on the grass next to his brother, engulfed in thought. Once he cleared his mind a little, maybe he'd re-attempt sleeping or something. He couldn't keep up with sleepless nights; days of travel and fighting without sleep wasn't much of a good equation, and it would weigh heavy on him beyond all feelings of guilt he still hid in his heart. Something heavy fell onto his shoulder. Ed glanced at it to see Alphonse's metal gauntlet of a hand resting firmly over the place where his automail attached to his flesh.

"You think too much," his oddly far-away voice said softly. "I want you to forgive yourself."

"Al..." Edward turned his head fully to look at his younger brother. The metal helmet that served as both his head and his face stared blankly at him the way it always did, still as devoid of expression as it had ever been. He looked at it for a moment, as though trying to picture Alphonse's real face in place of it. He almost could, and he could almost imagine the boy's eyes shrouded in concern. "You don't need to worry about me, I told you." He let his gloved hand -his _real_ hand- reach across and touch the gauntlet softly before letting it slip back down and return to his pocket. "I'm going to fix all of this. It's nobody's fault anymore, okay?"

"I know." The metal face gave a sturdy nod. "But sometimes you don't sleep because you're thinking. I know you don't think I notice, or that you sneak out really quietly, but I still know."

"I have a lot on my mind, I guess," Ed said truthfully, his gaze returning to the sky. "I think about what we're doing... you know, for the State. We see a lot of needless bloodshed. We see innocent people die. We see corruption and hardship and tyranny and problems. And we're alchemists, Al. That's what got us into all this. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing sometimes."

There was a clink as Al titled his head to one side. "It's both. It's mostly whatever we try to make it out to be, though. It used to make Mom happy, remember? Remember how she used to smile when we used it?" He would have smiled himself at the thought, were he still capable of it. "We help people with it when we can, too. I think... I think as long as we don't use it for wrong doing on purpose, then we can make it more of a good thing than a bad one. There are bad people out there, and some of them are alchemists, but we aren't like that. We don't try to be."

For a long while, no one said anything. The night was getting chillier, and Ed shivered slightly even under his multiple layers of clothing. The last words Al had said were almost lingering in the air. _We don't try to be_. Finally, Edward Elric smiled and gave his brother's broad metal rerebrace a pat as he got to his feet. The cool wind played around him for a moment, tugging at the tail of his jacket and running fingers through his hair. At last, both of his hands came out of his pockets and he stretched widely and let out a yawn. He turned in time to see Alphonse rise to his feet.

"You know," he said, as the last silent and thoughtful air left him. "I think it's time we went to sleep."


End file.
